Football: Pope John Paul II's Howarth rejuvenated for new season

It was Week Four of the scholastic football season a year ago when Pope John Paul II High traveled to Methacton High School to take on the Warriors.

The Golden Panthers were coming off a challenging three-week start to their season, which included losses to Berks Catholic, Pottsgrove and Spring-Ford, and were looking to getting into the win column for the first time.

But good luck would continue to elude them.

PJP lost its starting quarterback, James Bleming, to a broken collarbone early in the second period of the game, and then the team’s fortunes went from bad to disastrous.

In the third quarter, Nick Howarth, one of the team’s running backs, was returning a kick when a gruesome collision took place.

“It was rough,” recalled PJP head coach Mike Santillo. “Nick was going at full tilt, and he ran into a (Methacton) kid who was running full tilt, and immediately you knew something wasn’t right.

“Nick is one of those tough kids who always pops up after a hit. And he didn’t pop right up.”

Howarth stayed down, losing consciousness momentarily, and ultimately left the field on a gurney, having to be airlifted from the field.

The miraculous part of the story is that not only did Howarth return five weeks later to play in the Panthers’ game against Perkiomen Valley, but he’s back again this season just as intense and ready for another season.

“I was just airlifted as a precaution, taken to Penn,” Howarth said of the incident. “It turned out I only had a concussion and I was out three weeks.

“The day I was released from the hospital, I felt fine. I just had some post-concussion symptoms, like a reaction to light, some dizziness and some short-term memory loss. And once those symptoms went away, I knew I’d be fine.”

Howarth said he remembers most of what happened, once he regained consciousness.

“I remember waking up, confused and dazed, but I couldn’t move for about 30 seconds,” he recalled. “As soon as the (team physicians) moved my arms, got the feeling back.”

“Fortunately, the doctors, ours and (Methacton’s), handled it properly,” Santillo said. “They knew exactly the right things to do in that situation.”

Still, it took Howarth some time to be cleared to play.

“I really didn’t start practicing until the Thursday we played Perkiomen Valley (in Week Nine),” Howarth said. “(Linebacker) Kirk Cherneskie broke his hand in that game and I went in for him.

“I was a little shaky at first, but I got back into it.”

“I think it helped that both of the communities, for both schools, got involved and were sending him well wishes,” Santillo said. “He’s a great kid from a great family and tough as nails, and he worked his tail off to get back.

“You look at Nick now and he’s thicker and in better shape than he was last year. He’s ready for the season.”

Looking back on his recovery, Howarth said he’s thrilled to be back on the field.

“I love it,” he said. “We have a new defense this year, and we believe it’s going to work. And I’m happy to be a part of it.”